


It Happened During Winter

by Kaisbeast (Sugashadingyou)



Category: the GazettE
Genre: Kinda, M/M, Two Shot, bad attempts at everything, did it work? probably not, eventual handjob, how to squeeze decades of friendship into a single fanfiction, valentine's day fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 15:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9769265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugashadingyou/pseuds/Kaisbeast
Summary: "I'm going to be a famous soccer player one day and I'll make everyone play with a snowball!"Ever since he was little, it seemed like all the bad things happened when it was too cold to do anything, in Akira's life.Then he met someone.Reituha ♥Rated M for the Second part.





	1. Of Winter, Childhood and Frienship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_duck_bride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_duck_bride/gifts).



> Hello! Happy Valentine's day! Did you enjoy yours?!  
> Well, first of all, this is a gift for the_duck_bride for guessing the song on my previous fic. Sorry it took so long!! I really hope you like it!  
> I decided to cut this in two parts because it turned out to be kinda long, so first part is here and the last one I'll probably post during the weekend.  
> I apologize in advance for the typos or english mistakes, so let me know if you see any ^v^  
> I guess that's it! Enjoy the reading!

The first time he remembered seeing the snow was at the age of five. The bell had just rung, letting the children know it was lunch time. Akira didn’t like to play outside with the other kids since they were usually so mean to him, making jokes about the way he looked. However, for no particular reason he decided to go out that day, sitting alone with his delicious katsudon – he even took his gloves off to eat it – to keep him company. He remembered how the tiny snowflakes felt when falling on his dark hair and the excitement in his classmates’ voices when they flicked their tongues out to catch them.

He wished he had a friend to play in the snow with, that day.

  
At seven years old, he didn’t like winter at all. His mother wouldn’t let him play outside because he got sick way too easily, so he was left with all those boring toys that were no fun at all. His mother would say that she could take him to a friend’s house if he wanted to play with someone, except that he didn’t have friends at school and his only friend in the neighborhood had just moved out to Tokyo. _I hate it I hate it I hate it!_ , he would often tell his mother and even cry about it sometimes.  
What he did like about winter was the food. The short boy simply loved sitting around the kotatsu and eating nabe, feeling warm and cozy. He still remembered the day his parents brought the kotatsu home and how he refused to leave the small table even for a second, too afraid that the heat would just go away. When he asked his mother about why it was so warm, she said “when winter comes, the spirits of summer come to our houses to keep us warm, and it looks like one of the spirits decided to hide just inside our new table, Aki-chan!”, which he didn’t believe at first, but then he realized that his house really was warmer than the streets, after all, so his mother couldn’t be lying to him. To little Akira, winter seemed more bearable after _kotatsu-san_ – as he would call it – joined their family. He liked talking to the spirit of summer inside the table, asking it to bring summer back as soon as possible, but making it cool enough that his mother would still make him nabe every night. He also talked about every manga he read and how his mother wouldn’t let him buy the bloody ones.

When he started attending a different school, – just before he turned ten years old – it was winter. His parents had to cut expenses since his father had had been fired earlier that month. For that reason he didn’t get a Christmas present, and was instead presented with a new school and many different people to mock him, like his previous classmates enjoyed doing so much.

The first thing he was supposed to do was pick a club to join. In his previous school he had been part of the Arts’ club, his father’s choice, but no matter how much his parents told him his painting was great, he had a feeling that the spirits of art weren’t quite at his side most of the time. He then asked the teacher responsible for the clubs if there was an “I hate winter” club, but the teacher simply chuckled, so he guessed that the answer was no. Sadly. He was given two weeks to ask for his parents advice and decide on what to do, which he didn’t know if it was good or not, because he didn’t want to be put back in the Arts’ club.  
The new school wasn’t so different from the previous one, just a little bit smaller. His new classmates didn’t pick at him, but they didn’t talk to him either – not that Akira ever tried talking to them in the first place. There was a girl, however, Hitomi was her name, who would sometimes smile at him and help him when they were left to do the cleaning together. She wasn’t very talkative either, which left her with the same amount of friends as Akira had: none at all. Nevertheless, their little understanding didn’t last for too long, for he was soon moved to a different class.

That also happened during winter.

His new teacher introduced him to the class and pointed him at his new seat at the far left corner of the classroom, beside the window. He noticed how the soccer field was covered in snow, and wondered if his new classmates would like to build a snowman in the middle of the field, or maybe make a snowball and play soccer with it. Akira smiled to himself at the thought, and in that moment he decided: I’m going to be a famous soccer player one day and I’ll make everyone play with a snowball!  
Later that day, he signed up for the soccer team.  
  
His first memory of joining the soccer team was cold, way too cold to be playing outside. Summer spirits, help me! He asked, no, he begged as he ran around the field, warming up. Once he was done with that, the coach explained that he would have to start from the basics, since he was a few months behind on training, but he would pick one of the boys in the team to help him with training every day until he caught up with the others.

Just five minutes before his first training was over, a very tall boy showed up, excusing himself for being late and receiving a long scowl from the couch. Akira’s first impression of him was that he looked clumsy with all that height, the panting and the messed up hair.

“Alright, Suzuki-kun, this boy here will be the one to help you with your training, since he arrived so late.” The coach pointed at the tall boy “The rest of you are dismissed for today.” The children bowed and quickly ran back to the school where was warm and cozy, leaving only Akira and the tall boy behind.

“This kid here just joined the team, so your job is to teach him the basics for thirty minutes every day before and after the training.” The coach’ scowl couldn’t be larger “Are we clear, Takashima-late-kun?”

“Yes, sensei.”

“Great.” His coach turned his attention at Akira “Let me know if he’s not doing his job properly, okay, Suzuki-kun?”

“Yes, sensei.” Akira answered in the same tone as his teammate, getting a satisfied look from the other boy.

“Well, then, see you tomorrow, kids.” Their coach simply waved and left.

“Stupid sensei.” His teammate said. Akira just stared at the snowy grass as if it was the most precious thing in the world, not knowing what to say. “Oh, right!” the taller boy jumped and walked closer to the other. “I’m Takashima Kouyou! Nice to meet you!” He gave Akira an open smile, which made him timidly smile as well.

 

After spending a few weeks with Takashima Kouyou he could say he was making a real friend for the first time since kindergarten. He was also getting better at soccer, which he didn’t even know that he was good at, although most of the time his teammate would just run around with the ball. The tall boy was very talkative and smiled a lot, even though he didn’t have many friends either. After the first week of training together every day, they started spending lunch time together, always eating at Kouyou’s favorite spot, the rooftop. They talked about soccer, manga, their favorite games and Kouyou even invited him over to play once.

Akira found out that Kouyou’s favorite time of the year was Valentine’s Day, because his sister would always give him lots of chocolate and his mother would let him eat them all. And as the date approached Kouyou often talked about chocolate and how nice it was to see his sister making them.

“Did you ever get chocolate on Valentine’s Day, Suzuki-chan?” He asked once, as they shared the lunch their parents had made for them.

“No…” the boy admitted with a blush on his face.

“I’ll give you some, then!” Kouyou replied with a big smile “I’ll make you chocolate every year! How about that?”  
Akira wanted to tell him that his mother had explained that a girl gives chocolate to a boy to show how much she likes him, but his blush was so intense that he didn’t even know what to say.

Childhood was hard.

And just as promised, February 14th arrived with a rather smiling Shima-chan giving him a box full of milky chocolate.

  
  


Thirteen year old Akira wouldn’t say that he actually enjoyed winter, but it wasn’t as bad as it was when he was younger. During winter Kouyou would often stay over at his house, making sure to keep him up all night. They were best friends now, practically glued to each other, all thanks to Kouyou’s great efforts to send Akira’s shyness away, replacing his awkward personality with a rather easy going one. He had grown in height and confidence, and he even managed to become friends with some of his other teammates as well. Kouyou’s presence had changed his life for the best, and for that reason he couldn’t hate winter anymore; after all, it was the childish thought of kicking a snowball that took him to the place where he met his best friend, in the first place.

He had gotten very good at soccer, becoming the star of the team along with his best friend. Together they were the “strike brothers”, awarding their school with goals and big victories every time. He even played against his old school earlier that year, and the result turned out even better than the expected. Their coach congratulated him and Kouyou for the amazing match, especially his best friend, who showed a passionate anger during the game. When Akira asked about his strange behavior, the taller teen simply answered “I hate them for treating you so bad”, to which, as usual, he didn’t know what to say.

Akira couldn’t quite understand how Kouyou himself didn’t have many friends, save only for their teammates. “They’re just boring so I don’t talk to them” his friend would say, but there had to be something else. When he finally took the courage to ask his friend about it, he found out that Kouyou’s classmates used to pick on his height, until the day he got tired of listening to their insults and beat one of the annoying kids so hard that he had to be taken to the hospital, and from that day on no one really talked to him.  
“They will regret it when I become a famous soccer player, so it’s okay.”

 

 

At the age of fifteen Suzuki Akira was pretty sure he was going to die at any minute. He was out on a date that would most definitely have to end with a kiss – his first kiss – and he couldn’t possibly be more nervous about it. Kouyou said it wasn’t that big of a deal, even if he didn’t remember his best friend ever talking about kissing before. To make it even worse, the girl – Morikawa-chan – was his senpai. She asked him out after his first game as a high school student, confessing her feelings and expectantly smiling as she waited for an answer.

Akira didn’t know what to say, so he simply nodded a silent “yes”.  
His first date went surprisingly well, with the couple going to the amusement park and Akira winning a cuddly toy for her. After that they went on a few rides, the romantic ones, and shared their food while sitting on the grass and talking about their school life. Everything about that warm September day was so cliché that Akira could swear he was in a movie, and so, like every romantic movie, the date was supposed to end with a kiss. But what if he did something wrong and she started to hate him? What if she spread rumors about him being a bad kisser?

As they approached her house, Akira’s sweaty hands holding his senpai’s, he started planning on what to do to avoid it, but before he could come up with anything, Morikawa-senpai stopped in front of him and gave Akira a quick peck on his lips. She smiled at him and blushed slightly – barely noticeable compared to her date’s flushing red cheeks – before kissing him again, a real kiss this time. Akira took a while to correspond, the shock visible in his very open eyes. After a few seconds he noticed how her lips were warm against his and how good it felt to move them, but before he could actually enjoy it she broke the kiss and hurried into her house.

Later that day, Akira told his best friend about his first kiss, getting an “oh, that was so lame” as an answer.

High school was hard.

His first few months as a freshman turned out way better than planned. He was part of a successful soccer team, had amazing friends and even a girlfriend. However, karma was karma and as December 21st approached he was pretty sure that something bad would happen sooner or later.

And just like that, on the day before winter break, Kouyou made a new friend.

They didn’t spend winter break together for the first time that year, but he couldn’t even blame Kouyou, given that his girlfriend was demanding, and she practically denied him anything that didn’t have to do with her. However, before he could think too much into it, his best friend called, inviting him for a party at his new friend’s house. Akira wasn’t fond of parties, but at that point he would take any opportunity to spend some time with his friend.  
The house was wide, with open rooms and a disturbing lack of walls, in Akira’s opinion. He wasn’t used to western styled houses, so seeing the kitchen, living room and dining room without a wall between them was weird. But what really was weird were the people in the party; he could tell one or two were his senpai from school, but most men and women there seemed even older. Akira noticed how dark their clothes were and how the women and even some of the men were wearing makeup, which was peculiar, to say the least. “What even…” he muttered to himself as he nervously looked for his best friend, finding him in the backyard with a guitar on his lap.

“Aki-chan!” Kouyou waved at him as he reluctantly approach the small group around his friend. “You came!”

“Yeah…” He felt uncomfortable with the amount of people staring at him, waiting for him to say anything, which he didn’t. Kouyou noticed his discomfort, much to his relief, and took him away from the group.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Aki-chan! I’ve missed you.” Kouyou smiled and hugged him tight. “You have to meet Masamune-senpai.”

They wandered around the big house for a while, until Kouyou finally found his so called new friend swallowing down a weird looking shot with an ugly face. The man had a bleached hair with pink strands, and if it wasn’t enough, he was wearing makeup. Akira was suddenly reminded of his mother’s voice telling him not to mix with those rebel people who listened to weird music, and for some obvious reason he felt that rebel people who listened to weird music was the exact definition of the situation he was in at the moment.

Later that night he found himself timidly tapping his fingers on the table along with the surprisingly good music that came from the tv.

 

Over the next couple weeks he and Kouyou started spending the days watching music videos at their senpai’s house, providing him with so much fun that he completely forgot – or purposely ignored – about his girlfriend when they weren’t at school. He knew she was upset, but really, what could he do? As February came though, so came the end of their small relationship. It was barely 11am, but the cold kept sending shivers through his body and he patiently listened to his soon to be ex girlfriend talking about how bad of a boyfriend he was, politely apologizing for the hurt he caused her before leaving to enter the school building to find his best friend. As he walked to his classroom he noticed that he didn’t feel bad about breaking up, although he had been excited to have someone else giving him chocolate that year.

“Don’t worry, Aki-chan, I’ll make twice as much just for you, this year.”

That day Akira invited Kouyou to listen to music and play games at his house after soccer practice. He felt free without his now ex girlfriend calling him all the time and he even realized how much he had missed spending time alone with his best friend. When they were alone Kouyou was more relaxed, smiled more often and even hugged him every time he got excited about something, whatever it was.

There was nothing, nothing like Takashima Kouyou to make everything in his life brighter.

“Akira,” Kouyou said after stopping the game and turning around to face him. “can I tell you something?”

“Of course, Shima-chan.” He didn’t like the troubled look in his best friend’s eyes, but he smiled at him anyway, pretending not to notice.

“Well, I think…” Kouyou avoided his eyes “I mean, I don’t know…”

“Go on, Shima, you can tell me” Akira reassured him.

“Okay…” he took a deep breath “I think I have a crush on Masamune-senpai…” he said, barely audible.

From all the things Kouyou had ever told him, that was definitely something Akira wasn’t expecting. He felt his heartbeat increase and a cold feeling resting on his stomach, to which he didn’t know how to explain. Kouyou turned his eyes back at him, expectantly, and for some unknown reason he couldn’t find the guts to meet his friend’s eyes.

“You like another boy?” Was the terrible answer he managed to give.

“I don’t know…” he saw tears building up in the corner of Kouyou’s eyes “Are you disgusted?” he murmured.

Disgusted? That wasn’t the word, was it? He didn’t care whether Kouyou liked to kiss boys or girls, but if he did like boys, then… Then he should have told him. Yeah, you’re supposed to tell your best friend these kinds of things, right? And they had been friends for years now, so why didn’t Kouyou had feelings for him instead? He gave him chocolate every valentine’s day and they were together all the time; if Kouyou was having “a crush” on someone, it had to be him, not some random senpai with a good music taste he just met last month. Ugh, he couldn’t stand the idea of even thinking about his best friend spending more time with their senpai than with him. Did he want Kouyou to like him, though? As in romantic feelings? Isn’t that supposed to be wrong?

“You are…” Kouyou quickly stood up. “I’m sorry. I’m going home now…”

“Wait, what?” Akira went back to the present with a shake of his head “No, Shima! Of course I’m not disgusted.” He answered in haste. “I was just spacing out, sorry.”

Kouyou looked down at him “Really?” his crying voice was like an arrow piercing through Akira’s chest.

He plunged himself up and wrapped his arms around the taller teen. “Of course. You’re my best friend.” He said with a gentle voice as his caressed Kouyou’s silky hair. And as his friend buried himself deeper into his embrace Akira noticed the clouds in his thoughts starting to disappear, leaving him with a warm feeling of belonging. Nothing really mattered anymore. It simply felt right to have Kouyou in his arms.

  
There, on a cold February evening, Akira had his heart broken for the first time.


	2. Of Winter, Dreams and Love

The winter Holidays of his senior year came to an end with a very frustrated Akira dying to quit school. It was no use, anyway. His plan was very clear: he was going to become a famous bassist. You don’t need school to do that, right? More importantly, his best friend was also going to become a famous guitarist and they would play together and make a lot of money to buy an apartment in Tokyo large enough to fit all of their hundreds of instruments. Over the past couple years Akira noticed how it didn’t matter what his dream was, as long as he had Kouyou with him in the future, and his best friend wanted more than anything to become a famous guitarist like Sugizo. So, naturally, Akira would follow.

They played together in their senpai’s band for a year and Akira couldn’t help but stare at his best friend in awe every time he strummed the guitar neatly, as if he was born to do that. He tried to learn the guitar as well, but it turned out to be too hard for him, so bass was his second choice. Unlike Kouyou, who was a self learner, he started taking bass lessons and adding more and more to his recent found love for music. Whenever he and Kouyou were together they would watch music videos and try to play like them, pretending they were in a large stadium with a crowd so big he wouldn’t be able to see a single empty spot. Kouyou also shared those dreams with their senpai, which always made his stomach twitch in pain. It was annoying, really; he never confessed, and yet he never stopped talking about the damn guy either.

In any case, at the age of 17 Akira was very much aware of two things: he couldn’t live without music and he definitely couldn’t live without Kouyou. Both had become his breathing air, although his stupid friend was far more important than anything else. And for that reason he found himself still at school, despite not wanting to be there at all. Kouyou’s parents agreed to help him going to Tokyo if, and only if, he graduated from high school with good grades, and Akira simply couldn’t abandon his friend like that. _We better become really famous._

As he saw his best friend quickly approaching him with a big smile on his gentle face Akira knew it was all worth it.

The first day of school went by uneventful as the two friends survived every boring lesson together. At this point Akira was already tired of his classmates talking shit about his friendship with Kouyou, and there were rumors all over the school that they had been dating. He simply couldn’t understand what was so fun about meddling into people’s lives and wasting their own life to talk about someone else’s, but he was beyond caring by now. He was only there for Kouyou anyway.

When they arrived at Kouyou’s house later that afternoon Akira was already hoping that one day of school would be enough to guarantee their good grades that year, but he knew better.

“Maybe we should just pack our stuff and run away to Tokyo instead.” He said, after spending good five minutes talking about how boring their teacher was.

“And how are we supposed to get a job and a place to live if we’re not even legal yet, Aki-chan?”

“Oh, just details.”

Kouyou rolled his eyes. “We have to do it the right way, Aki-chan, otherwise we will be just wasting our efforts.”

“Yessir!” Akira replied with a sarcastic salute to which he earned a weak punch on his arm.

“Speaking of which… Masamune-senpai is moving to Okinawa next week.”

Akira noticed the hurt in his best friend’s eyes.

“So he’s really giving up on the music, after all.”

“Yes…” Kouyou fixed his gaze on the floor. “Aki-chan… Do you think we should do the same?”

“Give up on our dream?” Akira stood up. “Just because your _beloved_ senpai doesn’t feel like it anymore?” He said with maybe an unnecessary anger on his voice.

“Well three years ago our dream was to become famous soccer players. Maybe it’s time to grow up and think about real careers.”

“Kouyou, are you even listening to yourself?” Akira was pretty much yelling now. “We have everything planned! Dammit, Kouyou, we’re really good at it! More than we were good at soccer!” He held a strong grip on Kouyou’s shoulders. “Don’t give up just because your secret crush decided he wants to become an engineer instead.”

Kouyou pushed him away. “Now you’re just being mean, Akira.”

“And you’re just being stupid!”

“You know what? You’re just saying this because you’re jealous.”

“Jealous? Me?”

Kouyou shuddered. “But of course! You just can’t stand the idea of me having someone else as a friend.” He raised his voice. “Well, guess fucking what, Akira? You’re not the only one that matters in my life.”

“So a guy you met three years ago means as much as the only fucking friend you’ve had your entire life?”

Before Kouyou could answer, though, Akira quickly grabbed his school pack and headed to the door. “I hope your beloved senpai will put up with your bullshit, because I’m done.”  He closed the bedroom door with a loud bang and hasted his way through the front door. It was only when the chilling wind met his warm skin that Akira noticed he had left his scarf and gloves at Kouyou’s bedroom. _Stupid fucking cold weather._

That wasn’t the first time he and Kouyou had had a fight, but it never seemed so serious before. He’d never left so angry and so frustrated like that, and worst of all, he didn’t even know why he was so damn upset in the first place. Was it really just because he was jealous of Kouyou’s friendship with Masamune?  Of course not. Akira wasn’t jealous of anything; in fact, they could do whatever, he didn’t care.

Even though he didn’t care, Akira still couldn’t sleep that night; an image of Kouyou leaving him to be with Masamune very much alive in his thoughts.

He didn’t bother getting up to go to school the next morning. When his mother came up to check on him he simply said he caught a cold and wasn’t feeling well, which was only half a lie. A few minutes after that he heard the doorbell ring, but didn’t bother with it either.

“Akira?” He heard his mother walking towards him again. “Takashima-kun was just here. Came to deliver some things you forgot in his house yesterday. Isn’t he such a good kid?” She said with a sappy voice.

He rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

“I told him you were feeling sick so he’s bringing your homework later, okay?”

“Hm.”

“I’m going to work now so call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Yes, mom.” He mumbled.

When his mother left the house, he felt lonely. Decided he wasn’t going to stay in bed all day, he started practicing with the bass. _Just forget about stupid Kouyou._

As the day went by, however, Akira couldn’t stop thinking that maybe _he_ was overreacting after all. He thought about Kouyou spending lunch time by himself and skipping the classes they so needed to pay attention in order to get good grades to smoke or even, who knows, not going to school at all and going to their senpai’s house instead. No, Kouyou did tell his mother that he was going to bring his homework later, so he shouldn’t worry about that.

Masamune wasn’t a bad person, and Akira actually liked him. He was the one to help Kouyou with learning the guitar and he even helped Akira himself to choose a bass to buy, so it wasn’t like he hated the guy. But whenever Kouyou talked about him Akira’s stomach hurt and he felt like punching his stupid face away from his best friend. So maybe he was just overprotective of Kouyou? Yes, that’s exactly what it was, he decided.

Shortly before his mother arrived from work he got back to bed, still pretending to be sick.

By the end of the week Akira was actually pretty sure that he was an awful person. Despite not being that mad at Kouyou anymore he still couldn’t manage to face his best friend and apologize, so he simply avoided him at school. He felt lonely and guilty by doing so, but his pride spoke louder so he just waited for taller teen to apologize instead, which he didn’t.

He got a call from Masamune inviting him to his house for a goodbye party, but he honestly didn’t wish to see Kouyou all sweet and smiles at their senpai and not even talking to him, so he said it was his mother’s birthday. Just a little white lie would do no harm, right?

Wrong.

Because if Akira wasn’t such a child he would have gone to the party, and Kouyou wouldn’t have shown up on his doorstep first thing in the morning with a bruised cheek and tears falling from his eyes; he wouldn’t have to take Kouyou to his room and hug him until the boy stopped sobbing uncontrollably to resume to a silent crying that wasn’t better at fucking all, nor would he have to hear about what happened because he would never let anything bad happen to his best friend in the first place. But Akira wasn’t like that. Akira was just a stupid teenager who avoided his best friend all week instead of apologizing for being such an ass and failed to be there when said friend needed him the most.

Kouyou confessed. Kouyou confessed his feelings and got a slap as an answer, but not only that; he was mocked by everyone and kicked out of the party because “no one really stands a fag who’s just using music as an excuse to wear makeup and play doll”. If only Akira hadn’t been so fucking stupid…

“Akira… No one’s ever going to love me, will they?”

It was cold, so fucking cold. The grass was covered in snow and the sun didn’t make an appearance that day, but the winter outside wasn’t nearly as cold as his bedroom when he listened to his best friend saying those words; and over his long 17 years of age he had never felt more sad and desperate than he did when he wrapped his arms around Kouyou’s crying frame, each teardrop falling on his shirt painfully breaking his heart into tiny pieces. He never thought that watching someone else cry would be this painful for himself, and he honestly didn’t know what to do. But when Kouyou said that…

He loosened his grip on Kouyou to be able to look at his best friend’s watery eyes. Kouyou’s hair was a mess of black and green, his eyes were swollen from crying, his cheeks were ruby red and he had a running nose, but when Akira looked at his best friend he could never be more certain that he loved that kid. Kouyou was a gentle, caring and fun person; he was tall and clumsy and was always late for everything, but he had always been there for Akira, always; he was a talented soccer player, and even more talented guitarist, playing like a pro at 17 years old without ever having a teacher to learn from; he had crazy dreams and he planned on achieving all of them, and more important: he had the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. It’d been a week since Akira saw that smile and only then he realized just how much he missed it. He didn’t deserve to go through any of that; he didn’t deserve to think that no one’s going to love him because he was just so… so…

So Akira did the only thing that felt right in that moment.

His lips met Kouyou’s for a brief second, enough to feel its warmth. Akira quickly pulled away and held him tight again, without waiting for Kouyou’s reaction.

“I love you.” He murmured. “And I’m never letting anyone hurt you again.”

He didn’t know if it was the kiss or his words that helped, but Kouyou didn’t cry again that day.

When Valentine’s Day came Akira was presented with the biggest box of chocolates he ever got. “To the best of the best friend in the world!” Kouyou said before placing a soft kiss on Akira’s lips, quickly turning around to make his way to school.

He looked behind to see Akira still standing on the same spot. “Are you coming or not?”

Akira shook his head and nodded, running to meet his best friend.  

They didn’t talk about what happened, both pretending that everything was normal, and it actually was, except that Akira couldn’t stop thinking about Kouyou’s soft lips on his all day, maybe, just maybe wishing that he could feel them again.

 

 

“She said she didn’t like it.” Suzuki Akira, twenty years old, currently wishing that the world would just end, said.

His friends burst out laughing. Again.

“Oh my God” The shorter said between giggles. “I’m so sorry, man.”

The taller laughed for good two minutes before he was even able to say anything. “This is still my favorite story” he paused to catch his breath. “My stomach hurts, Aki-chan!”

Akira buried himself deeper on the futon, drinking from his beer. “I hope the same happens to the two of you.”

“That wouldn’t be possible,” the shorter said “because I’ve had sex a handful of times before and they all enjoyed it very much.” He smirked.

“Well, you’re still spending Valentine’s day getting drunk with two men instead of going on a date, so you’re not much better.” Akira stated.

Kouyou laughed at Akira’s words, then paused. “And don’t think I’ll get some action anytime soon.” He sighed.

“I can change that anytime, Takashima…”

“You wish, Matsumoto.”

Akira rolled his eyes. “Stop with the flirting, you!”

Takanori raised an eyebrow “Oh… I think he’s jealous, Kou-kun!”

Kouyou chuckled. “Don’t worry, Aki-chan! There’s always room for one more, right?”

“I hate you both.” He said with an angry face, but giggled right after, filling the small apartment with the sound of their laughter.

Moving to Tokyo wasn’t an easy task, but Akira and Kouyou actually handled it pretty well. They both got a job on the local grocery store on different shifts, and were able to pay all the bills in time; when Kouyou didn’t forget about pay day, that is. The apartment was made for one person, so it was far too small for the both of them, but it was nice somehow. It was easy to clean and they managed to leave the mess hidden in the bedroom they shared, away from the rest of the apartment.

Their current situation was a little harder though, since Takanori was staying with them. The short boy was a drummer with quite the rebel attitude, but he was actually a great friend and a talented musician. Akira met him shortly before moving to Tokyo, but they became friends really fast. Introducing Takanori to his best friend was also a good idea, for they got along pretty well as well. Despite being a rebel kid, the drummer was very passionate about music, so it didn’t take long before the three of them were in a band together. At first Takanori stayed in their hometown because he still had to get a job and savings to be able to move out, but after an ugly fight with his parents he was kicked out of his own house, which took them to their current situation: one bedroom, two beds and three young men. It was chaotic, but somehow he liked it, no, he loved it. Akira couldn’t be happier.

Well, actually, he could. He would have been happier if the first person he had sex with didn’t end up telling him that he was bad at it. That was months ago, but whatever, it still felt humiliating.

Adulthood was hard.

 

Takanori was the first one to pass out, so the remaining men moved their small party to the kitchen so they wouldn’t wake the drummer up. They kept drinking and talking about music, their band, and sharing memories. Akira noticed how Kouyou’s cheeks were pinkish from the alcohol and all the laughing, and how light he felt with his best friend around. Kouyou’s open smile was his favorite view in the world, and now that they lived together he got to see it even more often.

Kouyou had gotten even taller and was turning into a full grown man, but he still had the same innocent smile from when they first met. His face and his body, though… Akira tried not to think about that as he drank his beer. _Stupid hormones._

He wondered if Takanori looked at his best friend like that, too… He obviously joked about it, but did he mean it whenever he said that Kouyou was “the sexiest person I’ve ever met”? Akira couldn’t tell.  He also didn’t know if Kouyou liked him or not; he hoped that his best friend would talk to him about it if he did, but in reality ever since the Masamune incident Kouyou never showed romantic feelings towards anyone anymore. In fact,  what pained him the most was that Kouyou changed in many aspects. He wasn’t as easy going as before, he had troubles talking to new people and even Akira sometimes, and he always doubted himself. For a long time Akira thought about chasing that guy to Okinawa and punch him straight on the face, but he knew his best friend wouldn’t like that. However he promised himself that if he ever saw that guy again… Oh, he would have to pay for it.

“Akira?”

He blinked a few times. “hm?”

“You were spacing out.” Kouyou chuckled.

“Yeah, sorry…”

“Only if you tell me what’s on your mind!”

“I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular.” He simply answered.

“Are you sure?” Kouyou raised an eyebrow. “I know we joked about it earlier but if that sex thing is bothering you, you can tell me.”

“That’s not it.” He smiled.

“Then what is it?” Kouyou asked, expectantly.

“Do you really wanna know?”

“Go ahead.”

“Well…” He took a deep breath. “I was wondering if Takanori has feelings for you.”

Kouyou made a confused look. “Taka?” He hummed, thinking about it. “Don’t you think he’s too good for me?”

_Oh, Kouyou…_

“I think you’re too good for him, actually.”

Kouyou looked at him in disbelief. “Hm, not really,” he paused “he can play the drums, he writes beautiful songs and lyrics, and have you heard him sing Luna Sea in the shower? And I’m just a clumsy guitarist.”  

“He’s also cheated on every person he’s been with.” Akira stated. “And you’re not just a clumsy guitarist. In fact, you’re not a clumsy guitarist, you’re talented and you’re pretty fucking good at it.”

Kouyou ignored his answer. “Why were you thinking about that, anyway?”

“Out of curiosity.” He quickly answered.

Kouyou approached him, fixing his gaze on Akira.

“Are you jealous?” The taller took another step towards him.

“Why would I be?” Akira took a step back.

“And if I say that I like him?”

“You’re free to like anyone.”

“So it’s okay if I date him?” He took another step.

“He’s gonna hurt you.” Akira took another step back to find himself trapped between Kouyou’s tall frame and the kitchen counter.

“What if I don’t care?”

“Well, I do.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my best friend.”

“And what would you do if he hurt me?”

“I’d be there for you.”

Kouyou placed his arms on each side of Akira’s body.

“Would you kiss me again too?”

Akira froze, heart pounding like a drum in his chest. Kouyou was close _, too close._

“Would you… Akira?” Kouyou leaned down to whisper his name on his ear.

Akira felt his cheeks burning and for some reason he knew it wasn’t the alcohol. He desperately looked away from his best friend, trying to find the right words to say, but finding none. He was so confused. It was just a kiss, right? To make him feel better. It helped. So he would do it again, right? No big deal. Right?

After a minute that felt like forever, he nodded.

Kouyou grinned. “And if I want you to kiss me right now?”

Akira opened his mouth to tell Kouyou that he was just drunk, but he couldn’t do it. His gaze met Kouyou’s half parted lips and he couldn’t stop staring at them. Maybe… Maybe it would be nice to kiss them again. He noticed how Kouyou’s Adam’s apple moved when he gulped and he thought that maybe it would be nice to kiss him there too.

When his eyes finally met kouyou’s they already knew the answer.

Kouyou closed the distance between them, sealing their lips. Akira parted his lips and their tongues met in a delicious movement. Kouyou tasted like alcohol, but he did too, so it was okay. It was a feverish kiss, nothing like the previous innocent ones, and as Kouyou pressed him harder against the counter he jerked his hips, feeling all the blood rushing south. Kouyou moaned into the kiss, causing Akira to press their bodies even closer.

They broke the kiss for air, his tongue soon going all the way down to suck on Kouyou’s neck. It felt so fucking good.

“Aki…”

There was a voice telling him that they were doing something wrong, that he shouldn’t be making out with his best friend like that, but that voice was soon forgotten when Kouyou’s hands found their way under Akira’s shirt, sliding his fingers over his back. Akira shivered at the touch.

Kouyou’s hands left his back and went lower, squeezing Akira’s ass over the fabric of his pants.

“Hmm…” Akira let out a quiet moan.

Fuck, he was a full grown man moaning like a teenager at the feeling of a _simple_ make-out session with his best friend. He was still in his pants, for God ‘sake! Kouyou’s hands teasing him, Kouyou’s mouth on his, Kouyou’s body pressed against his… it all felt so good, too good really, that it got him wondering why on earth they hadn’t done that before. Best friends do that all the time when they’re younger, right?

Kouyou sucked on his earlobe before whispering “Akira… Can I touch you…” Akira felt his friend’s hands moving from his ass to his – “Unng” he groaned as Kouyou said the last word with an innocent tone, fingers touching the erection formed under his pants.  “…Here?”

“Fuck…” Akira leaned deeper on the counter with a feeling that his legs would fail him anytime. That was enough of an answer for kouyou, whom, decided to explore even further, gently slid his fingers under Akira’s pants.

“Aaah!” He let out a strangled cry. Kouyou’s fingers felt cold on his erection, which somehow made the feeling even better.

Whatever, he would just blame it on the alcohol.

He tangled his fingers on Kouyou’s hair, pulling him for a demanding kiss. He felt Kouyou’s hand wrapping around his erection and let out a cry in anticipation.

He clumsy made his way into Kouyou’s pants as well, unsurprised to see how hard he was also. The taller bit his lower lip to muffle a moan and tilted his head back; Akira found it even more exciting to see his friend’s reaction as he mimicked Kouyou’s movements.

Kouyou pressed harder against Akira as their hands moved at the same pace, both letting out small cries of pleasure ever so often. Akira found himself lost at the sensation, spasms running through his body as he felt himself closer, he also felt Kouyou growing even harder against his hand, which meant he was close as well.

“Aki… Hmm…”

Akira bit hard on his neck, causing Kouyou to whimper. He increased his pace, delighted at the sounds coming from his friend’s mouth – and surprised at his own.

“Fuck, Akira…” Kouyou gasped. “I’m… Ah…”

Kouyou’s free hand pulled Akira up for a hungry kiss as he came, his breath coming in pants. Akira felt the warm liquid of Kouyou’s cum on his hand and grinned, unable to hide his amusement. After catching his breath for a few seconds Kouyou started moving his hand again, getting a loud moan from Akira.

It felt so good, just so fucking good. “Faster, Kou…” he cried out. “Fuck…”

Strong waves of pleasure ran through his body and he came without a warning, splaying cum over Kouyou’s hand and his own pants. He felt his entire strength leaving him, his legs giving in as he fell on the floor, Kouyou following soon after.

Kouyou wiped his hands on his shirt, taking it off to clean Akira’s hands as well.

Silent fell over them, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. He tried to understand what just happened, but thinking proved itself to be too hard at the moment, so he simply gave up. He kept his eyes closed, memories of the recent events flashing on his thoughts.

“What were we talking about, anyway?” Akira opened his eyes to meet Kouyou’s when he broke the silence.

“I’ve absolutely no idea.” Akira chuckled.

“You have to remember!”

“Why me?” Akira pointed at him. “You started all of this.”

“Well you didn’t stop me, did you?”

“What? Don’t blame it on me!”

They stared at each other with challenging looks before bursting out laughing.

“We’re just fighting again.” Kouyou pointed.

“I don’t think we can stop.” Akira smiled.

Akira noticed how Kouyou looked serious for a few moments, before putting on a smile again. “Akira, is this supposed to be awkward?”

“I don’t know, man… I’m still drunk.” He laughed.

“I don’t feel awkward at all.”

Akira worked on giving a thought about it, realizing that he didn’t care either. But maybe it was just the alcohol in his system.

“Yeah, me neither. But maybe we will tomorrow.”

When they were done with cleaning themselves exhaustion took over. It had been a long day for all of them, working then going home to practice music and then getting many beers to celebrate their Valentine’s misery.

They dragged themselves to the bedroom, squeezing under the futon that they shared ever since Takanori came to stay with them. However, unlike most of the previous nights, they didn’t fight for space or complain at the other for getting too close. They simply lay next to each other, face to face, with a small distance between them.

“Goodnight, Akira.”

Akira didn’t answer, but leaned in to place a small, gentle kiss on his best friend’s lips, much like the first one they shared years ago.

It felt natural.

It felt right.

 

 

At the age of twenty-nine Akira saw his dream come true. The five of them had been together for eight years, and finally they were able to play on Tokyo Dome and leave their mark on visual kei’s history. Ten years ago he was just a kid moving to Tokyo with his best friend, trying to accomplish a childish dream of becoming famous musicians. Then it suddenly became real.

When they left the stage for the last time that day he couldn’t stop crying. He thought about everything they’d been through to get to where they were now. He thought about their first concert, the shitty part time jobs they had to work to be able to pay the bills, the nights they spent turning normal clothing into costumes since they couldn’t afford buying anything special.

He thought about how cold it was when he left his apartment in the morning, and how warm it felt now. He thought about his first memory of the snow, when he wished upon the summer spirits to bring him a friend.

The guitarist was crying as well, as much as when he had his heart broken when they were teenagers, but his tears were so different now. He smiled, remembering the first time he saw Kouyou playing a guitar, back then when they still talked about becoming soccer players. He wondered if they could have accomplished that as well. Probably so, as long as they were together.

 

It was a cold winter night in the streets of Tokyo, with rain pouring down on two of them as they walked in silence to the guitarist’ place after a spending the night out celebrating with the others. They took their wet clothes off upon entering Uruha’s apartment and walked to the bathroom for a much deserved hot bath. They sat on opposite sides of the large tub, simply staring at each other.

After a few minutes, Uruha broke the silence. “We did it.” He gave the bassist an open smile.

Reita took a deep breath. “I can’t believe we did it.”

“I told you we were gonna make it, didn’t I?!” The guitarist said with a proud voice.

When Reita looked at the guitarist he saw the energetic kid from his soccer team, running around and talking about becoming a famous player. He wished he could go back to the exact moment that they met and tell his younger self “he’s going to make your every dream come true”.

He also wished he could go back to the exact day that he fell in love with his best friend, which was something he was never quite able to figure out. To be honest, he couldn’t think about his life without loving Kouyou, so maybe the feeling had been there from the start, even if he wasn’t aware of it back then.

They had been together for 19 years as best friends, and 9 years as lovers now, and Reita didn’t regret a single thing about his life. They shared many moments together, shed many tears – of anger, hurt and even more so of happiness and joy -  they fought more often than not, always about something rather small and childish, but always ended up laughing right after. They were so comfortable around each other, whether they were working, hanging out or having amazing sex, everything came naturally to them.

From the day they met, Kouyou made his dream of “making winter warmer” a reality. In Akira’s heart, it was always summer when they were together.

Always bright.

Always a dream coming true.

“Yeah… You really did.”

And it happened during winter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was really fun to write! I love Uruha and Reita together, they fit so well.  
> I hope you liked reading it as much as I did with writing!  
> Let me know what you think!  
> ♥


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